


A return of affection

by ShirosRedKnight (SweetFanfics)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Childhood Friends to Lovers, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Sheith Spring Flower Exchange, set at some vague point in the canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-01
Updated: 2017-05-01
Packaged: 2018-10-26 17:06:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10790976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetFanfics/pseuds/ShirosRedKnight
Summary: And after so many years of pining for Keith, Shiro feels ready to tell his best friend how he feels about him (no small thanks to extensive pep talks from his teammates and friends, who apparently are weary of their mutual pining).The trouble is, he wants his confession to be special. It can’t be a run of the mill confession. Keith deserves better than that. Plus, Shiro thinks that holding Keith’s hand and telling him, “I like you” won’t do justice to how he feels for the man.





	A return of affection

**Author's Note:**

> I realized after finishing this that I... didn't... make this suggestive like you wanted Shia :< I hope you still like this!
> 
> Special thanks to synne & jem for the quickie beta-ing (and extra thanks to synne for helping me get over a hump with the story)

They’ve been best friends since they were 9 and 11 respectively. Consequently, if anyone asks Shiro since when he’s been in love with Keith, he can’t pinpoint an exact time. Hell. He can’t even pinpoint an exact _year_. All he knows is that his feelings for the dark-haired man have grown over the past decade.

 

And after so many years of pining for Keith, Shiro feels ready to tell his best friend how he feels about him (no small thanks to extensive pep talks from his teammates and friends, who apparently are weary of their mutual pining).

 

The trouble is, he wants his confession to be special. It can’t be a run of the mill confession. Keith deserves better than that. Plus, Shiro thinks that holding Keith’s hand and telling him, “I like you” won’t do justice to how he feels for the man.

 

“You’re over thinking this,” Pidge sighs at him as he goes through the list of suggestions Lance and Hunk have put together for him. An _actual_ list of suggestions.

 

Shiro stares at the suggestion of a romantic picnic and tucks it away in the folder marked ‘maybe’  before looking up, “Say what?”

 

“You’re over thinking this.” The green paladin enunciates clearly, shifting a bunch of tech to the side with a hard sweep of her left arm. “You don’t need to do anything fancy for Keith. You know he doesn’t like fancy stuff _and_ you already know he likes you.”

 

Blushing, Shiro ducks his head behind the scrap of paper. It’s taken him a while to agree with the others on that particular point but even now, he’s got some difficulties believing it. He’s believed that his feelings for Keith were one-sided for so long that when the others had casually pointed out Keith likes him back, Shiro’s reaction had been denial. But after a few weeks of the others sharing their ‘evidence’ with him _and_ him catching Keith surreptitiously watching him (always looking away with a quick blush when their eyes meet), Shiro had gone from “this love is going nowhere” to “cautiously optimistic something good may happen.”

 

Which brings him back to his present predicament.

 

“Flowers would be clichéd, wouldn’t they?” Shiro mumbles to him, marking a small cross next to the suggestion to confess to Keith with a dozen red roses. Honestly, where’s he even going to get a dozen red roses from in space? The closest thing they’ve seen to roses so far were those sentient flowers with fangs and spat venom at anyone that came close to them.

 

While Pidge sighs that her advice is falling on deaf ears, Shiro muses that a lot of these confession ideas involve using flowers. Mostly roses but a lot of them come with the caveat of “whatever his favorite flowers are.” Pressing the list against his stomach, Shiro slides another inch down his seat and stares up at the high ceiling.

 

 _Keith’s favorite flower, huh? I don’t think he’s ever mentioned what his favorite flower is_. Turning his head, Shiro stares out the far window, frowning at the starry view. _Even if I knew that, I doubt I’ll find them growing out here._

 

It’s hard to find flowers growing as it given the quadrant they’re in. There’s few habitable planets as it is and what little flora exists happens to be not suitable for gift giving purposes. As he continues to contemplatively tap his fingers against the lists, an idea slowly begins to take form in his mind. But to go forward with it, he needs some information first.

 

“Hey Pidge,” Shiro begins slowly, still staring out into space. She grunts in acknowledgement, “I need you to do me a favor.”

 

\---

 

Something is up with Shiro.

 

Keith frowns as he watches Shiro whisper something to Allura before she asks Coran to accompany Shiro. No more details beyond that, which is slightly usual given their policy of telling each other where they’ll be.

 

Tightening his crossed arms for a moment, Keith tells himself to relax. As he exhales, Shiro and Coran leave the room, talking in hushed whispers well out of Keith’s earshot. They can’t be plotting some secret mission could they? Something Allura’s trusted only to Shiro and Coran?  

 

 _Maybe it’s got nothing to do with fighting the Galra_? Keith muses with a small frown. _But if that’s the case then_ _what could it be?_

 

Tipping his head back against back of the couch, Keith’s frown deepens. He sifts through the memories of the last couple of weeks in search of any event that may stand out as a clue. They’ve helped rescue a transport vessel of alien refugees, negotiated an alliance with another planet, and tried out some new group exercises in the hopes of improving their teamwork even more.

 

 _Can’t be any of that_. Shaking his head, he thinks about the non-Voltron stuff. They’d played a game of Truth or Dare in a fit of boredom a couple of days ago. Hunk has finally perfected his recipe for space cookies that taste like a heavenly mix of chocolate and strawberries. Lance is still on the war path to find out who used up his face cream (Keith suspects the mice). And Shiro’s been whispering a lot with Allura and Coran for whatever reason.

 

Keith exhales his frustrations and slouches further in his seat.

 

“Something up?” Hunk asks across the way, sitting cross-legged on the couch. His fingers remain poised on the laptop’s keyboard but all his attention is focused on Keith. “That’s the third time you’ve sighed in the last five minutes.”

 

Scrubbing the back of his neck, Keith wonders if he ought to tell Hunk the truth or lie. A glance up at Hunk’s earnest dark eyes settle the question for him in a heartbeat. Pushing himself forward so that he can rest his elbows on his thighs, Keith mutters, “It’s stupid but... Shiro’s up to something.”

 

Thick brows rise up. “Like what?”

 

Keith shrugs, linking his fingers together in the space between his knees. “I’m not sure. That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out. Has he said anything to you?”

 

Hunk shakes his head. “Nope! What makes you think he’s up to something?”

 

“Gut feeling mostly. Plus the way he keeps sneaking off.”

 

There’s a fair deal of judgement in Hunk’s gaze when he says, “Are you keeping track of where he goes? That’s borderline stalking, dude.”

 

Flushing in embarrassment, Keith splutters, “I don’t _stalk_ him! I just... notice when he comes and goes.” Hunk’s grin is immediately and smug. Keith can’t help but fall back with a groan, “Don’t say it!”

 

“That’s _adorable_!” Hunk coos over his plea, causing Keith to cover his eyes with a gloved palm. “You can’t help but keep track of where your crush goes. That’s so-”

 

The rest of his sentence isn’t allowed into the world because Keith whips a pillow at Hunk’s face. Hunk yelps, and then again as he almost dislodges the computer out of his lap. “Careful!” he chides with a worried pout. “Pidge’d kill me if anything happened to her baby.”

 

Keith crosses his arms again and sits back muttering, “Sorry.”

 

Hunk puts the laptop on the empty seat next to him before dropping his feet down on the floor. “Teasing aside, you think he’s up to something because he’s been sneaking around?” Once Keith has nodded, Hunk asks again, “Any idea what he’s up to?”

 

“Nope. That’s what bugging me.”

 

“You tried asking him?”

 

There’s a childish tint to his voice when Keith answers, “He’s been avoiding me.”

 

“Hmm,” Hunk crosses his arms as well, tapping a finger against a bicep before asking, “Is there anyone else you could ask?”

 

Keith blinks and looks up at Hunk, who stares back waiting for an answer. “I could ask Allura,” Keith finally says slowly, getting up to his feet. He takes two steps before turning back to ask Hunk, “You think she’ll tell me what’s up?”

 

“Pretty sure! Why wouldn’t she?” Hunk reassures him.

 

\---

 

“I’m sorry but I can’t tell you,” Allura shakes her head apologetically. “I promised Shiro I wouldn’t say anything.”

 

She tries to walk around him to check another console but Keith steps in her path, shooting her pleading looks, “Can you give me a hint? Is everything okay that he’s been sneaking out of the castle?”

 

Taking a step around him, Allura tells him, “I can only reassure you it’s for a good cause. It’s nothing to worry about.” Fingers poised over the screen, Allura pauses and turns to give him a small frown, “You’ve noticed when he leaves the ship and returns?”

 

Flushing in worry that he may be accused of stalking Shiro again when he _naturally_ notices Shiro’s absence, Keith mumbles an excuse and flees the control room. As he turns the corner, he narrowly avoids crashing into Shiro, who turns at the last second with a startled, “Whoa!” His arm reaches out to grab Keith by the waist before he goes crashing into the far wall.

 

The touch sends a flash of heat up his gut, the same way Shiro’s amused grin goes. “Where’s the fire?”

 

“Nowhere.” Keith touches Shiro’s chest under the guise of restoring his balance and counts to three before taking a step back. “Where were you?”

 

A touch of pink kisses Shiro’s cheeks immediately. The hand he’s got behind his back lets out an odd crinkling noise Keith realizes he ought to recognize. “Went on a quick recon mission with Coran.”

 

“ _Recon_?” Keith parrots. “We’re in neutral space! Why did you need to go do recon? And in a _pod_? Why not take your lion? Or ask one of us to go with you?”

 

Something akin to alarm rises in Shiro’s eyes with every question. There’s even a couple of drops of _sweat_ starts to break across the taller man’s forehead as he laughs nervously. “It wasn’t anything that serious. Just me being paranoid.”

 

With a confused gesture, Keith says, “Since when are you-”

 

“Ah! Shiro!” Coran chirps from the far end of the corridor, waving an enthusiastic hand to grab the black paladin’s attention. Keith doesn’t miss the way Shiro’s shoulders suddenly relax at the sight of the older man gesturing for him to come over. “I ran into a spot of trouble with your request. I’m going to need you to help me setup the parameters.”

 

As he turns towards Coran, he winds up flashing Keith a quick look at what he’s hiding behind his back. It’s a pale box tied together with dark string. Shiro’s fingers are spread wide to keep their grip on the box. Keith wonders what’s in it.

 

In fact, he opens his mouth to ask Shiro when he turns back with an apologetic look, “Sorry Keith. I gotta help Coran. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

 

Keith opens his mouth to argue but Shiro’s already walking away. With an annoyed exhale, Keith mutters, “Okay” to no one before turning on his heel. Maybe wailing on the Gladiator for a while will get rid of this frustration that’s been gnawing on his mind.

 

\---

 

It takes one more day for his frustration to turn into weary acceptance. Whatever Shiro’s up to, Coran and Allura refuse to give him any hints. They just smile and tell him not to worry, it’s something good. After hearing that reassurance for the third time, Keith gave up.

 

He’s not sure what Shiro’s up too that it involves this much secrecy but whatever it is? It better be _damn_ good because Keith _hates_ surprises. He thought Shiro knew that.

 

This is a point Keith feels the need to reiterate when a nervous Shiro quietly asks him to meet up in the viewing room after dinner. The viewing room being the large room with a huge window to look outside (ergo the name). He opens his mouth to remind Shiro but deflates in the face of Shiro’s hopeful look.

 

“Yeah sure,” Keith sighs, scratching the back of his head. “After dinner?”

 

“Yeah! I’ll see you then.”

 

He spends the time till then wondering what Shiro might be up too. Keith tries bouncing a couple of ideas off Hunk but it’s all for naught when Hunk casually, and teasingly, suggests that _maybe_ Shiro’s going to ask him out.

 

Keith had flushed at the suggestion before hurriedly telling Hunk that wasn’t possible but once the possibility is out in the open, it’s like trying to cram an overflowing suitcase shut again. It takes entirely too much effort on his own and there’s something sticking out from the corner. Keith tells himself it can’t be that. It just can’t.

 

Like, sure. They’ve been close since they’ve been kids and Shiro has treated him differently from everyone else too. But Keith’s not an idiot. He knows better than to hope that the preferential treatment means Shiro’s _into him_ or anything like that. Hell! Keith doesn’t even match Shiro’s type! The three people Shiro’s gone out with have been as tall as him, blonde, and pale eyes. Keith’s total opposites.

 

His thing? His one-sided crush is exactly. That. A one-sided crush. As such, Keith can’t let his foolish hopes get the better of him. Which is easier said than done when he remembers all the times he’s caught Shiro watching him in the last few weeks. A couple of times Keith can dismiss as a coincidence. But _so many_ times? Coupled with the pensive look in Shiro’s eyes?

 

He bites his lips standing in front of the closed doors, heart racing thanks to his nervousness. Keith closes his eyes and tells himself to get a grip. He needs to not  get his hopes up. For all he knows Shiro may have something else planned. Maybe he found some cool book he wants to share. Maybe he’s going to ask Keith to carry out some secret mission. It could be a number of things beside asking him out.

 

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Keith softly but sternly reminds himself before taking a step forward.

 

The sensors pick up his presence and let the door open with a soft chirp and a pressurized hiss. Keith swallows when he sees Shiro turning towards him, a nervous smile lighting up his handsome face. Keith’s lips turn up in return. It’s a smile that feels more wobbly than a plate of jello but Shiro doesn’t seem to notice anything off.

 

“Hey,” he greets Keith as soon as the door closes. “I thought you weren’t gonna show.”

 

“Sorry about that. I uh. I had some stuff to do.”

 

Like pace the length of his room a couple dozen times to work his anxiety off before making the journey over here. But Shiro doesn’t need to know that.

 

Shiro stands in the middle of the room, hands behind his back. He stands perfectly still waiting for Keith to walk up to him and then lets out a soft exhale. “Thanks for coming.”

 

With a half shrug, Keith says, “It’s nothing. So. What did you want to talk about?”

 

Keith’s suddenly keenly aware of how utterly quiet the room is because the bracing inhale Shiro takes seems to echo off the cold walls. Space has never seemed so constricting to Keith.  The time it takes for Shiro to lick his lips and start shaping words has never been so long.

 

Over the rapid beating of his heart, Shiro’s voice bleeds through. “Yeah. I wanted to give you something actually.”

 

The winds go out of his sails with those words. Keith blinks in surprise at Shiro, mouth falling open to ask what but Shiro’s a step ahead of him. He brings his hands forward, showing off the dark box in his hands. If Keith’s right, that’s the same box he saw Shiro just a day ago. Only difference is, the box is tied up with a fancy ribbon this time - a glittery silver ribbon that shines against the dark matte of the box.

 

Keith stares at the box, stares at Shiro, stares at the box. Starts gently when Shiro gently says, “It’s for you.”

 

He licks his lips and accepts the box with a shaky hand. With a gentleness he rarely displays, Keith pulls the ribbon open before checking how to open the box. There’s a magnetic latch on the front that he gets his finger under. It opens with a soft click. He pushes the lid back, forgetting to breathe for a wondrous moment when the starlight catches on the crystal flower nestled inside the lavender cloth.

 

“This is...” Keith raises the box up for a closer look. “Isn’t this a jonquil?” He counts the six flat petals with the raised center and tries to figure out how the center is glowing. The way it’s pulsing softly makes Keith wonder if it’s a natural property of the stone.

 

Shiro takes a step closer, a gentle smile on his lips. “Yeah. I wanted it to be your favorite flower.”

 

With a blink, Keith looks up as he asks, “How’d you know that?”

 

“Truth or dare remember?”

 

Keith thinks back to the game and immediately remembers the round of seemingly innocent questions they’d asked each other before they’d shifted back to silly dares, and laughs. “You sneak.”

 

“That’s me. A sneaky sneak.” Shiro laughs before asking, completely and charmingly bashful, “Do you like it?”

 

“I _love_ it. But what’s the occasion?”

 

Shiro licks his lips, bashfulness turning into shy nerves. His eyes dart away for a moment. His chest rises and fall in a deep breath before he looks back up. His nervousness lurks behind a fierce determination that steals Keith’s breath.

 

“We’ve known each other for years.”

 

 _Over ten years_ , his brain helpfully supplies.

 

“You’ve always been there for me when I needed you, whether it’s to support me or give me a kick in the butt.” Shiro’s pursed lips let out a long exhale. He fingers reach out to gently touch Keith’s forearm. “You’ve had my back through thick and thin. Whenever I needed saving you were there, holding you hand out. And I...”

 

Keith stares at the way Shiro’s Adam’s apple bobs, feels something shake loose inside of him at the nervous click Shiro’s throat makes as he swallows. “And you...?” he urges Shiro gently.

 

Gray eyes lock onto the flower’s center, watching the golden light pulse. Vulnerability hangs off his shoulders like a threadbare cape when he murmurs, “And I’ve loved you the entire time.”

 

As Keith’s world shifts on its axis, Shiro’s words holds him steady. Keep him from falling on his side, or worse, falling off track. He rushes through his explanation as Keith’s stares at him with wide eyes, unable to believe this is his reality.

 

“I don’t even remember when I fell in love with you. I can’t remember a time when I _wasn’t_ in love with you. And I know this might be too much, too soon and you may want time to think about this and how it’s going to change our relationship-”

 

Keith cuts Shiro off with a rushed, “Me too.” He reaches out to grab Shiro’s hand and says, “I feel the same way. I’ve _felt_ this way since we were kids but I never knew how to tell you.”

 

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

 

He shrugs helplessly, looking down at the flower. “I was too scared. I didn’t think you felt the same way about me.”

 

Silence stretches between them. It’s like a bubble growing at the end of a child’s straw. Even though the exhale is slow and measured, done with great care, any second the bubble could pop anyways. The shimmering film pops into nothing when Shiro quietly says, “Oh.”

 

“Yeah. Oh.”

 

“That’s the same reason I didn’t tell you all this time.”

 

Cautiously, Keith raises his gaze again. Shiro’s head is lowered as well. But his gaze is locked onto Keith’s gloved fingers still curled gently around his forearm. Hopeful butterflies flutter inside his chest, unable to find rest because of how his heart picks up speed.

 

He pitches his voice low and careful, asking, “What made you change your mind?”

 

“The others made me realize we’ve waited too long.” Shiro’s hand is warm as he cups Keith’s elbow. The gentle squeeze that follows makes Keith’s heart clench. “I didn’t want to wait anymore. I wanted you to know.”

 

Keith sucks in a shaky breath, needing to center himself because this is... He doesn’t have words for the emotions flooding him. It’s happiness, relief, regret, _hope_. And above all, is the urge to move forward. To take the next step with Shiro as soon as possible..

 

He smiles, hopelessly and happily in love with the man in front of him. “I’m going to put this flower down and then I’m going to kiss you.”

 

Shiro blinks rapidly, eyebrows shooting up in surprise. His mouth opens and closes without a word coming out. Keith laughs at his confusion, quickly closing the box and planting it between them before he pushes himself up to his toes, hands cupping Shiro’s face tenderly.

 

He steals the words off Shiro’s lips, shivering at the gentle feel of them. The kiss is a little off center and it takes Shiro a beat to get with the program and apply pressure back. And as soon as his broad hands come to rest on Keith’s waist, it becomes  the perfect first kiss. It’s exactly how Keith imagined it would be.

 

\---

 

Shiro can’t believe it. He just can’t. It’s been so long since he’s felt this happy and this feels like another one of his hyper realistic dreams. Any second now, his eyes are going to snap open and instead of staring down into Keith’s happy, flushed face, Shiro will be staring up at his bedroom ceiling and _hurt_ at his reality.

 

It’s that thought which makes him keep his eyes closed as Keith pulls away. The corner of his eyes burn slightly, hoping against hope that this isn’t another dream. _Please... please let this be real._

 

Slowly his opens his eyes and is immediately caught by how lovely Keith looks when he’s lovestruck and dazed. _This is real. I really confessed to him and he really said yes_. Elation fills Shiro in a heartbeat, causing him to break out in a happy grin before he grabs Keith in a hug and spin him around in a circle.

 

Keith’s laugh is a short, husky thing that makes him grin harder. The tightness of his grip around Shiro’s shoulders centers the older man and shakes off the last of his doubts. And because he can, because Shiro wants to reassure himself that this is real, he presses his lips against Keith’s ear and whispers, “I love you, Keith.”

 

“I love you too,” Keith’s voice shakes with emotion. His grip on Shiro’s vest tightens, pulling Shiro for the tightest hug of his life. It rivals the hug Keith had given him in the shack shortly after his rescue. Shiro struggles to breathe and has never felt so happy about it.

 

He’s not sure how long they stand there, clinging to each other like a lifeline but Shiro imagines it must be a couple of minutes. It’s enough time for their passion to subside into something more shy and tender, causing them both to look away bashfully.

 

Shiro ducks down to grab the box between them before holding it out for Keith. “Don’t forget this.”

 

“I wasn’t going to.” Keith strokes a line down the box before shooting Shiro a contemplative look, “How long have you been planning this?”

 

“A couple of weeks. Lance and Hunk gave me this list of ways I could confess to you and they all involved flowers. But us being in space and all, you know.” Shiro gestures with his finger to indicate how hard it’d be to get flowers. When Keith nods, he carries on, “But I didn’t want to confess to you without _some_ kind of flower. And I figured you might not appreciate actual flowers because they might fade too quickly so... I asked Coran for some help to find me a guy who could make you a crystal flower.”

 

He doesn’t know what to do with himself because of the loving way Keith’s looking at him. Shiro wants to rub the back of his head, turn red and hide his face, and kiss the awed look away. It’s too much for him to handle. So he compromises by half-hiding, rubbing the bridge of his nose with a finger and asking, “Too much?”

 

“Just enough,” Keith reassures him, pressing the box against his chest. “It’s perfect.”

 

“I’m glad.” It makes all his effort worthwhile. Feeling afloat with happiness, Shiro asks, “Wanna go see what’s the best place to put that flower in your room?”

 

Keith nods, holding his free hand out for Shiro to take. “Yeah.”

 

Grinning harder, Shiro links their fingers together.

 

“Lead the way.”

 


End file.
